READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Contact Us
See department contacts, frequently asked questions, request customer service support, submit a photo or place an ad.

Article Tools

PITTSBURGH - Early in the first scrimmage of NHL training camp Saturday morning, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound winger in a black jersey stepped over the boards.

Before he had been on the ice 10 seconds, he lined up a player in a white jersey and delivered a bone-jarring check that left defenseman Alex Grant flat on his wallet in the neutral zone.

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Steve MacIntyre.

"It's nice to get out there and bang a few bodies and play hard," MacIntyre said.

Banging bodies and playing hard are two of the things MacIntyre does well on a hockey rink.

Another, of course, is beating people up.

The 30-year-old MacIntyre might just be the most intimidating fighter in professional hockey today.

MacIntyre spent all of last season with the Edmonton Oilers, fighting seven times in 34 games. The year before that, he fought four times in 34 AHL games with the Rochester Americans. Here's what MacIntyre did in those bouts:

l Knocked Syracuse's Jon Mirasty down with a left hand

l Dropped Hershey's Grant McNeill with a right

l Rendered Binghamton's Jeremy Yablonski semi-conscious with a monster right

l Pummeled Albany's Zach FitzGerald with blows until he crumpled to the ice

"You know what? I go into a fight, I'm going into a fight to hurt you," he said. "I'm not going in there to play patty cake."

Last February, the Penguins were involved in a high-profile, brawl-filled game with the New York Islanders where Eric Tangradi suffered a concussion at the elbow of rampaging heavyweight Trevor Gillies. The game reinforced the idea that fighting is indeed still an important part of the NHL game.

With that in mind, the Penguins needed a replacement for Eric Godard, whose contract was expiring, so they signed MacIntyre in July.

How would he handle a situation like the one that developed in the Islanders game?

"I'm not 100 percent sure how. I didn't see the whole build up," MacIntyre said. "But maybe you have to go out there and set the tone and grab one of their younger guys, their skilled guys, and just be like, 'I'm sending a message here. Loud and clear. This is not going to be tolerated.' And if it is, somebody's going to have to pay the piper."

MacIntyre signed a two-way contract that will pay him $600,000 when he's in the NHL this season and $105,000 when he's in the AHL. In order to save salary cap space, it's entirely plausible the Penguins would send him to the minors at times when they don't feel his intimidating presence is necessary in the NHL.

That possibility should excite the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fans who are partial to the rougher side of the game. It's also a possibility MacIntyre has prepared for.

"Wherever they have me pegged in, whether it's here or whether it's Wilkes-Barre, I'll go down with my work boots and my work hat and accomplish what I can and set some goals," MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre has already set one goal for this season. He wants to force opponents to fight him because he's punishing their team with physical play, not because he asked them to off a faceoff.

Then once the gloves are off, all bets are off as well.

"I might have a couple screws loose, but you know what? I enjoy it," MacIntyre said. "I think it's the ultimate test of being a man. That's the way I look at it. God gave me a talent. I'm going to go out there and do the best I can with it."

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.